Tourney named after Loverboy bassist

Author Unknown

Scott Smith loved baseball. He watched it on television and lived it through ten years of coaching in the Ridge Meadows Minor Baseball Association. He loved to go to the ballpark, where he was recognized as a dad who coached baseball and not as the bass player for the band, Loverboy. Sadly, Smith passed away last year in a boating accident.

It is his love of baseball that will be recognized in this weekend’s Scott Smith Memorial Midget AA Tournament. The decision to dedicate the tournament to Smith was easy. Steve Murray, president of the Ridge Meadows Minor Baseball Association said, "He gave back to the community and this is a way to honour what he did, not as a musician but as a baseball coach."

Murray said that people don’t realize how involved Smith was in community baseball. Many times he would be out of town with Loverboy playing a concert and he would fly back before the rest of the band just to coach a game. Murray said Smith liked the fact that people didn’t know he was part of the band. At the ballpark it was strictly baseball, and that was fine with him.

Smith began coaching when his son Spencer was six-years-old. He coached many levels over the years and Murray recalls times when he "took over" and organized tournaments, including the Don Breu tournament one year.

"He’d coach first or the bench, whatever you wanted," said Murray. "He was always easy-going and friendly and approachable. The boys really loved him and he was a really good coach. He’s going to be missed."

Smith’s wife Donna, and sons Spencer and Brandon will be involved at the tournament, presenting the trophies after the final game.

Spencer is in his last year of ball with the AAA Royals, who play out of the B.C. Midget AAA League. Donna Smith said it was tough for him to play this year because his dad had always been there. She was proud when he decided to sign up — she wanted to see him finish.

She recalls when Scott threw the first pitch at a Mariner’s game and how much he loved the game. She said that Scott would have been really touched by the tournament being named after him.

"It’s about the man he was in the community, about his love of baseball, without the celebrity attached," she said.

The Scott Smith Memorial Midget AA Tournament takes place May 17-21 at Albion Park and Larry Walker Field. The first game is at Albion Park on May 17 at 6:00 p.m. between the Ridge Meadows Dodgersand the Chilliwack Blues. The final game will take place on Sunday at 4:00 at Albion Park.